Hello Leonard,

From what I've read in a couple of books and seen
in a few PBS and the like shows you are correct
that U-boat commanders were not brought on
war crimes for sinking merchants without warning
because someone, depending on the source could
have been USN, other military lawyers, or civilians,
mentioned that allied submarines also sink merchants
without warning.

Tom R


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Sent: Friday, May 20, 2016 7:22:09 AM
Subject: Re: 'War Crimes' are more a state of mind... was Re: [TML] New toy- "switchblade" loitering munition

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On 19 May 2016 at 20:38, tmr0195@comcast.net wrote:

> IIRC during WW II in the ETO there were raiding parties dressed in
> special uniforms with insignia when captured were shot as saboteurs
> and/or spies.
>
> Of course a war crime is determined by the side that won.
>
> IIRC in the early stages of WW I German U-boats followed the
> International Rules of War, by surfacing and giving the target's crew
> and passengers time to abandoned ship. The British ordered the
> skippers not to comply and attempt to ram the submarine. Eventually
> the U-boats stopped the practice and began sinking shipping without
> warning.
>
> The fact the merchants were ordered to ignore the Rules and attempt to
> sink the U-boat was ignored, but the sinking of ships without warning
> where criminal acts.
>
> My personal opinion both were criminal acts, but only the Germans paid
> a price for them.

It's interesting to note that during the Nuremburg trials, they did
*not* charge German U-boat commanders for doing that. I'm told
because some Navy folks pointed out that if they did, then they'd
have to prosecute *our* submarine commanders from the Pacific.


--
Leonard Erickson (aka shadow)
shadow at shadowgard dot com


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